HU Credits: 2

Degree/Cycle: 1st degree (Bachelor)

Responsible Department: Criminology

Semester: 2nd Semester

Teaching Languages: Hebrew

Campus: Mt. Scopus

Course/Module Coordinator: Rachela Erel

Coordinator Email: rachela.erel@mail.huji.ac.il

Coordinator Office Hours:

Teaching Staff:
Rachela Erel
Prof Leslie Sebba

Course/Module description:
This course seeks to provide students with a theoretical, historical, legal and institutional introduction to the discourse of international human rights in the context of criminological research.
We will discuss the development of human rights norms, their characteristics, justifications and principles, with an emphasis on their implementation in the various aspects of crime, punishment, law enforcement, policing and social control, incarceration and Victimology.
We will address the challenge of international human rights perspectives through a critical introduction to key discussions in the interface between criminology and human rights, including: the death penalty and torture; Incarceration and human rights (Solitary Confinement; mass incarceration); Powers of policing and criminal procedure (privatization, due process); Genocide and crimes against humanity; Transitional justice and more.

Course/Module aims:

Learning outcomes - On successful completion of this module, students should be able to:
Students will be able to identify conflict situations in the field of criminological research and everyday life that can be explained through the international human rights perspective.
Students will be able to analyze complex situations in their environment and the interface between criminology and human rights, from different perspectives: legal and social.
Students will be able to apply and design theoretical models that explain the problems they have identified and suggest possible solutions.

Attendance requirements(%):

Teaching arrangement and method of instruction:

Course/Module Content:
1. Introduction to Human Rights - Basic Concepts and Historical Development (Generations of Human Rights).
2. International Human Rights Law - UN Instrument and Institutions.
3. Human Rights Norms - Characteristics and Justifications for Punishment and Imprisonment.
4. The interdisciplinary approach of human rights discourse.
5. Criminology and human rights - a new discourse on an old topic. Between sociological insights and the lessons of two world wars.
6. Punishment and Human Rights - Normative Constraints of Legitimacy and Practical Limitations: The Type of Punishment, the Mode of Punishment and the Implementation of the Punishment (Death Penalty).
7. Imprisonment and human rights - mass incarceration and controversial practices (forced feeding and solitary confinement.
8. Law Enforcement and Human Rights Norms - The International Standards for the Conduct of Law Enforcement Officials (attorneys, police officers and prison guards).
9. The perspective of social control and human rights.
10. Victimology and Human Rights - Crimes Against Humanity and Genocide.
11. The policies of punishment and imprisonment - the European approach v. the American.
12. Criminology, Human Rights and Transitional Justice.

Required Reading:
1. Introduction to Human Rights - Basic Concepts and Historical Development (Generations of Human Rights).
2. International Human Rights Law - UN Instrument and Institutions.
3. Human Rights Norms - Characteristics and Justifications for Punishment and Imprisonment.
4. The interdisciplinary approach of human rights discourse.
5. Criminology and human rights - a new discourse on an old topic. Between sociological insights and the lessons of two world wars.
6. Punishment and Human Rights - Normative Constraints of Legitimacy and Practical Limitations: The Type of Punishment, the Mode of Punishment and the Implementation of the Punishment (Death Penalty).
7. Imprisonment and human rights - mass incarceration and controversial practices (forced feeding and solitary confinement.
8. Law Enforcement and Human Rights Norms - The International Standards for the Conduct of Law Enforcement Officials (attorneys, police officers and prison guards).
9. The perspective of social control and human rights.
10. Victimology and Human Rights - Crimes Against Humanity and Genocide.
11. The policies of punishment and imprisonment - the European approach v. the American.
12. Criminology, Human Rights and Transitional Justice.
בן נפתלי, א. ושני, י'. (2006) המשפט הבינלאומי בין מלחמה לשלום, הוצאת רמות – אונ' ת"א. עמ' 195-244.
כרמי, נעמה. (2018) זכויות אדם: מבוא תיאורטי, תל-אביב: רסלינג, עמ' 15-45.
סבה., ל. ואראל, ר. (2017) "כליאה בסגנון חופשי": על יישום הנורמות של זכויות האדם הבינלאומיות במערכת הכליאה הישראלית. חוקים י', 123, עמ' 131-166.
Freeman, M. (2011). Human rights: an interdisciplinary approach 2nd Edition (pp. 1-14). Polity.
Stanley, E., (2017) "Human rights as a protective force", in Weber, L., Fishwick, E., & Marmo, M., The Routledge International Handbook of Criminology and Human Rights. Routledge pub, pp. 503-511.
Murphy, T., & Whitty, N. (2013). Making History Academic Criminology and Human Rights. British Journal of Criminology, 53(4), 568-587.‏
Van Zyl Smit, D. (2012). Punishment and Human Rights. in Simon, J., & Sparks, R. (Eds.), The SAGE handbook of punishment and society (pp. 395-415). SAGE Press.
Scharff-Smith, P., (2017) "Prisons and Human rights: past, present and future challenges", in Weber, L., Fishwick, E., & Marmo, M., The Routledge International Handbook of Criminology and Human Rights. Routledge pub, pp. 525-535.

McCulloch, J., (2017) "Police, crime and human rights", in Weber, L., Fishwick, E., & Marmo, M., The Routledge International Handbook of Criminology and Human Rights. Routledge pub, pp. 323-330.
Blower, E., Donald, K., & Upadhyay, S. (2012). The Human Rights Implications of Contemporary Patterns of Social Control. Journal of Human Rights Practice,4(2), 187-212.‏
מדינה. ברק., (2017) דיני זכויות האדם בישראל, הוצאת נבו, עמ' 446-460.
Parmentier, S., & Weitekamp, E. (2007). "Political Crimes and Serious Violations of Human Rights: Towards a Criminology of International Crimes", in Crime and Human Rights, Boston: Elsevier, pp. 109-144.

Mitsilegas, V., (2017) "The European Union, Criminal law and human rights" in Weber, L., Fishwick, E., & Marmo, M., The Routledge International Handbook of Criminology and Human Rights. Routledge pub, pp. 115-124.

McEvoy, K. Dudai, R. & Lawther, C. (2017), "Criminology and Transitional Justice", in: Liebling. A., Maruna. S., & Mcara, L., Eds. The Oxford Handbook of Criminology (6th edition) pp. 391-415.

Additional Reading Material:

Course/Module evaluation:
End of year written/oral examination 100 %
Presentation 0 %
Participation in Tutorials 0 %
Project work 0 %
Assignments 0 %
Reports 0 %
Research project 0 %
Quizzes 0 %
Other 0 %

Additional information: